erikbrooks
12-09-2008, 01:42 PM
This was in Portland 12/6 and 7
I spent the weekend in Portland to race and watch the USGP cyclocross. I've been racing cross for two years now and hadn't visited Portland yet. I've heard about the great crowds and atmosphere there, and also the deep and sticky mud. I wanted to see this for myself, and doing it during the USGP seemed like the perfect time to do it. With this big-time race series, I'd be able to race both Saturday and Sunday, and watch the big national stars go at it too. Plus this series offered a race class that fits me perfectly - Cat3 55+. I'm 55, so I could be the 'young guy' for once. I couldn't resist.
I wanted to keep costs down, and I found someone to split gas and hotel costs - a 20 year old soldier from Florida, who's stationed at Fort Lewis, which is just on the way from Seattle (where I live) and Portland. That was interesting too - He's new to cross, and I spent time acting as a mentor to him, and he will later use his advanced video editing skills to pull together an interesting cross video for me.
VeloNews has posted a couple of fine videos of the elite races:
http://velonews.tv/?articleID=2502
Saturday we had sunny weather. Even so, the place where the course went thru the BMX race area was very muddy. THere was a firehose on the ground - it seems that they must have created the small lake that we rode thru. THe course was awesome. No big climbs, dangit - those are good for me. It favored someone with fine bike handling skills, which I hope to acquire soonish. It's my big weakness in cross.
About a dozen of us lined up for the 55+ race. We started 2 minutes after the 45+ group. These two facts meant that I was never in a big crowd, unlike some groups that started a crowd of 80 or so. A VERY different experience, I'm sure!
I started well, running a close third until we hit the muddy section. The fast locals knew exactly what to do there, and I lost 30 seconds in a section that took about a minute. Game over! I got better by the third lap, but it takes a skill that's new to me. get the weight WAY back and just power thru. Sometimes I would get so bogged down that I'd come to a total stop. Another rider with that same issue lost his shoe in the mud. This Portland mud is way stickier than any mud I've encountered - it's like peanut butter. I was amazed later to see the elites power thru this stuff with little slowdown - those guys rock! later I found my rhythm and made it back up to third. Woo Hoo, I got to stand on the podium.
THe elite men staged the best bike race I've ever watched. Ryan Trebon, Jeremy Powers, and Tim Johnson pulled away from the others and swapped the lead multiple times per lap, for nearly an hour. The two Cannondale riders kept taking turns attacking Trebon, who worked very hard to respond. One of the great things about cross is the compact courses that let you watch much of the course from a single point. We also trotted around to different points to see more detail. The elites had a drier course than we did on Saturday. About 1 minute from the finish, the two in 2nd and 3rd collided and went down, so Johnson was able to win easily. Slightly disappointing - we would have seen a 3 person drag race to decide the win if that fall didn't happen. Still, what a great race.
Saturday night it rained some, and the course was a little slicker for those of us that started in the morning. I had another good race, and ended up 2nd this time. This was a great way to end my season. I'd crashed on a road bike in July and suffered two cracked ribs, which forced me to sleep sitting up for 2.5 months. I had to give up training and racing, of course. I finally recovered enough to start two cross races in November. So a 2nd and 3rd feel pretty good to me after my very abbreviated race season.
After my race ended, the rain began to fall hard. My buddy and I went back to the hotel and got a good shower, and returned to watch the elites. The video captures well just how muddy and slick it was - top riders falling all over the place. We also got to see some of the Portland crowd foolishness - stuff like putting a $20 bill into the top of a beer can and setting that down at the top of the slick climb that features in the video. People were shouting to the riders "Take the $20!". The lead riders just ignored this, but I watched a mid-packer reach down and take the bill, look at it to confirm it was a 20, showed us a big grin and pushed it into his shorts. Just about paid his entry fee right there!
All in all, a fine and fun weekend, and I'm already looking forward to next year. I don't know if the USGP will return to Portland, but I certainly hope so!
I also posted a few pics on SmugMug.
Here's one of me:
http://erikbrooks.smugmug.com/gallery/6772842_pD2rF#432528593_pZXvd
I spent the weekend in Portland to race and watch the USGP cyclocross. I've been racing cross for two years now and hadn't visited Portland yet. I've heard about the great crowds and atmosphere there, and also the deep and sticky mud. I wanted to see this for myself, and doing it during the USGP seemed like the perfect time to do it. With this big-time race series, I'd be able to race both Saturday and Sunday, and watch the big national stars go at it too. Plus this series offered a race class that fits me perfectly - Cat3 55+. I'm 55, so I could be the 'young guy' for once. I couldn't resist.
I wanted to keep costs down, and I found someone to split gas and hotel costs - a 20 year old soldier from Florida, who's stationed at Fort Lewis, which is just on the way from Seattle (where I live) and Portland. That was interesting too - He's new to cross, and I spent time acting as a mentor to him, and he will later use his advanced video editing skills to pull together an interesting cross video for me.
VeloNews has posted a couple of fine videos of the elite races:
http://velonews.tv/?articleID=2502
Saturday we had sunny weather. Even so, the place where the course went thru the BMX race area was very muddy. THere was a firehose on the ground - it seems that they must have created the small lake that we rode thru. THe course was awesome. No big climbs, dangit - those are good for me. It favored someone with fine bike handling skills, which I hope to acquire soonish. It's my big weakness in cross.
About a dozen of us lined up for the 55+ race. We started 2 minutes after the 45+ group. These two facts meant that I was never in a big crowd, unlike some groups that started a crowd of 80 or so. A VERY different experience, I'm sure!
I started well, running a close third until we hit the muddy section. The fast locals knew exactly what to do there, and I lost 30 seconds in a section that took about a minute. Game over! I got better by the third lap, but it takes a skill that's new to me. get the weight WAY back and just power thru. Sometimes I would get so bogged down that I'd come to a total stop. Another rider with that same issue lost his shoe in the mud. This Portland mud is way stickier than any mud I've encountered - it's like peanut butter. I was amazed later to see the elites power thru this stuff with little slowdown - those guys rock! later I found my rhythm and made it back up to third. Woo Hoo, I got to stand on the podium.
THe elite men staged the best bike race I've ever watched. Ryan Trebon, Jeremy Powers, and Tim Johnson pulled away from the others and swapped the lead multiple times per lap, for nearly an hour. The two Cannondale riders kept taking turns attacking Trebon, who worked very hard to respond. One of the great things about cross is the compact courses that let you watch much of the course from a single point. We also trotted around to different points to see more detail. The elites had a drier course than we did on Saturday. About 1 minute from the finish, the two in 2nd and 3rd collided and went down, so Johnson was able to win easily. Slightly disappointing - we would have seen a 3 person drag race to decide the win if that fall didn't happen. Still, what a great race.
Saturday night it rained some, and the course was a little slicker for those of us that started in the morning. I had another good race, and ended up 2nd this time. This was a great way to end my season. I'd crashed on a road bike in July and suffered two cracked ribs, which forced me to sleep sitting up for 2.5 months. I had to give up training and racing, of course. I finally recovered enough to start two cross races in November. So a 2nd and 3rd feel pretty good to me after my very abbreviated race season.
After my race ended, the rain began to fall hard. My buddy and I went back to the hotel and got a good shower, and returned to watch the elites. The video captures well just how muddy and slick it was - top riders falling all over the place. We also got to see some of the Portland crowd foolishness - stuff like putting a $20 bill into the top of a beer can and setting that down at the top of the slick climb that features in the video. People were shouting to the riders "Take the $20!". The lead riders just ignored this, but I watched a mid-packer reach down and take the bill, look at it to confirm it was a 20, showed us a big grin and pushed it into his shorts. Just about paid his entry fee right there!
All in all, a fine and fun weekend, and I'm already looking forward to next year. I don't know if the USGP will return to Portland, but I certainly hope so!
I also posted a few pics on SmugMug.
Here's one of me:
http://erikbrooks.smugmug.com/gallery/6772842_pD2rF#432528593_pZXvd